1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to pressurized surgical instruments. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to pressurized surgical instruments incorporating pressurization mechanisms configured to internally balance or exceed pressures detected within an insufflated body cavity.
2. Background of Related Art
During certain surgical procedures, such as, for example, laparoscopic procedures, it is often necessary to separate a body wall of a patient from the underlying tissues in order to create a working space for the surgical instruments. This is typically accomplished by forming an incision through the body wall and inserting an access port or cannula through the incision. A source of expansion or insufflation fluids or gases is provided. The gases are forced through the cannula and into the body cavity. As the insufflation fluids enter the body cavity, the fluids force the body wall away from the underlying tissues to create the working space. This results in the working space having a higher internal pressure than that of the ambient pressure external to the body.
Once the insufflated working space has been created, surgical instruments may be inserted through the cannula and into the insufflated body cavity to perform surgical procedures. These surgical instruments typically include a handle or body portion which remains external to the patient's body and an elongate tubular member having a working instrument or end effector which is inserted through the cannula and into the pressurized body cavity. Since the body cavity is at a higher pressure than that external to the body cavity, insufflation fluids tend to escape up through the elongate tubular member and exit through gaps in the body portion of the surgical instrument. This escape and flow of insufflation gases through the elongate tubular member creates a drawing or siphoning effect within the elongate tubular member which pulls bodily fluids and tissues through the end effectors and into the elongate tubular member. The introduction of bodily fluids and tissues into the end effector and the remainder of the surgical instrument contaminates and may clog the working components of the surgical instrument. This results in difficulty in operating the surgical instrument in addition to contaminants being passed through the surgical instrument.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a surgical instrument which prevents the escape of bodily fluids and tissues through the surgical instrument. It is further desirable to provide a surgical instrument which incorporates a pressurization mechanism to balance the pressures within the surgical instrument with the pressures within the body cavity in order to prevent escape of the insufflation fluids through the surgical instrument. It is still further desirable to provide a pressurized surgical instrument which can be utilized to augment the insufflation fluids provided by the cannula into the body cavity.